Field
The present disclosure relates to a fuel supply device configured to supply a fuel to a fuel tank.
Related Art
A proposed configuration of a fuel supply device to supply a fuel to a fuel tank placed in a vehicle or the like includes a filler neck that has an opening in which a fueling gun is inserted and that forms a fuel passage to introduce the fuel supplied from the fueling gun to the fuel tank; and a fuel vapor pipe (breather pipe) configured to return the fuel vapor in the fuel tank to the filler neck (as described in, for example, JP 2016-13827A). The fuel vapor pipe is connected with a fuel vapor port branched off from a filler neck main body, such as to cause the inside of the fuel tank to communicate with the fuel passage inside of the filler neck main body. The fuel supply device described in JP 2016-13827A is provided with a protective portion configured to cover a branch portion where the fuel vapor port is branched off from the filler neck main body and thereby suppress the branch portion from being damaged by application of an external force to the branch portion.
The protective portion of JP 2016-13827A is simply configured to collectively surround, in the circumferential direction, the filler neck main body and the fuel vapor port (and a portion of the fuel vapor pipe connected with the fuel vapor port) in the neighborhood of the branch portion. When a significant external force is applied to the fuel vapor port via the protective portion, the fuel vapor port receives a major part of this external force. This causes a problem of plastic deformation of the fuel vapor port or damage of the branch portion. In the fuel supply device, there is accordingly a need for a technique that suppresses plastic deformation of the fuel vapor port and damage of the branch portion when an external force is applied.